


Snip

by absolutelyCancerous (cal1brations)



Category: DRAMAtical Murder (Visual Novel), DRAMAtical Murder - All Media Types
Genre: Friendship, Gen, Haircuts, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, Platonic Relationships, Self-Discovery, ok MAYBE renkouao if you squint...., ummm idk ren gets a haircut and it's cute??
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-27
Updated: 2015-10-27
Packaged: 2018-04-28 10:59:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,243
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5088082
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cal1brations/pseuds/absolutelyCancerous
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><i>It’s okay to do this</i>, he tells himself. <i>Aoba said it’s okay. This is my body. I’m allowed to live in this body. </i></p>
            </blockquote>





	Snip

“Do you want to cut it?”

It’s such a simple question, Ren knows, on some scale. It should be a yes or no. It shouldn’t involve Ren dissecting the thought all through the evening, all through his bath, and all through the time he spends in Aoba’s room before bedtime.

His bangs are getting way too long, which is the problem. They’re in his face, too short to be pulled back into the small bun he can pull the rest of his hair back into, but too long to be held back by a headband, too long to be tucked behind his ears. Lately he’s been pinning them back with bobby pins, but the look is not something he quite likes.

When he doesn’t answer right away, Aoba gives him a look, a little smile as he pats Ren’s knee and tells him to think about it, and then goes back to messaging Koujaku on his Coil—they’re in the middle of making plans to go out drinking with everyone sometime next week, Ren included.

Before bed, before Ren heads to what is now his room (which was Aoba’s parents room, at one time, but Tae had decided extremely early on that sleeping on a futon on Aoba’s messy floor was not acceptable for Ren, especially not for his recovery), Ren stands in Aoba’s doorway, fiddling with his hands as he tries to tell Aoba what he wants.

“Ren?” Aoba asks as he slides the veranda door closed, looking to Ren over his shoulder. “What’s the matter?”

“I…” He sighs, takes a deep breath and looks down at the floor. “I do want to cut it.”

Aoba doesn’t say anything, so Ren looks up to see his face. At least he doesn’t look angry, Ren thinks gratefully.

“You’re sure?” Aoba asks as he crosses the room, brushing Ren’s bangs out of his face and smiling at him fondly. “You don’t have to, but it might bother you less—“

“I want to cut it.”

Aoba smiles wider at that, leaning up to grant Ren a soft kiss.

“Then let’s get Koujaku to do it,” Aoba says. “You don’t want a shaggy mess like mine—he’ll definitely know how to do it.”

“Is that okay?” Ren asks, and he’s not sure what exactly he means, and Aoba looks him over for a long moment, trying to dissect the statement. Okay with…? Ren changing this body? Ren being _ready_ for change in general? Getting Koujaku to fix his hair instead of Aoba?

“Of _course_ it’s okay,” Aoba tells him, giving his shoulders a pat. “Don’t worry about it, Ren. It’s just a haircut. I’ll ask Koujaku tomorrow if he can do it, okay?”

Ren nods, thanks him, and they hug and share a couple more kisses before Ren leaves for his own room. He likes sleeping with Aoba, but nowadays it’s too sketchy; they haven’t told Tae what they are, not yet, and Ren doesn’t want to mess anything up by being too needy, by wanting to be with Aoba every possible second he can.

He gets ready for bed quietly, and while he brushes his teeth, stares at himself in the mirror. Change is… scary, he thinks, spitting into the sink and washing his mouth out. When he’s finished, he touches his hair a little, curious as to what he wants to do with it.

 _It’s okay to do this_ , he tells himself. _Aoba said it’s okay. This is my body. I’m allowed to live in this body._ He watches his reflection watch him as he reassures himself, and his fingers slowly move to trace over his right cheek, ghosting over patterns that aren’t there.

Ren leaves the bathroom, certain, and heads to bed.

* * *

Koujaku is a very busy guy, but somehow, between Rib and Beni-Shigure and making ladies feel pretty and adored, he makes time to see Ren and Aoba one evening.

Aoba mostly gets him to do it without making an actual appointment because he uses Tae’s dinner as bait, and Ren smiles when he hears Koujaku groan over Aoba’s Coil, damning him for using his grandmother’s cooking as a weakness. But he smiles as he says it, so Ren tries not to feel so bad, and Aoba gets Ren to at least say a hello before Aoba and Koujaku finish up their conversation, something about Mizuki’s hangout that makes Aoba click his tongue and laugh.

A few nights later, Koujaku arrives as promised. Aoba lets him in and they greet with loud, happy words as Ren comes down the stairs quietly. It’s not that he doesn’t like Koujaku, so much as he’s just… a little shy around everyone nowadays. He always feels out of place when he’s with anyone but Aoba, even if Koujaku treats him nicely (which he certainly does—he insists that he thinks Ren is wonderful, which embarrasses Ren).

“Hey, Ren!” Koujaku greets as he unbuckles his sword from his back to set it in the genkan against the wall. “How’ve you been?”

“Hello,” Ren greets as he reaches the bottom of the steps, standing beside Aoba. He hopes Aoba doesn’t notice how nervous he is. “I’ve been fine, thank you—yourself?”

Aoba smiles at him then, giving him a gentle bump. “You don’t have to be so formal, Ren,” he assures. “It’s just Koujaku.”

“As if I’m not important!” Koujaku fires at Aoba with a wide grin, but when he looks to Ren, he smiles with a great degree of fondness. “It’s fine, Ren. I take it you’re a little nervous?”

“Somewhat,” Ren answers honestly, and Koujaku chuckles as he steps out of his sandals, leaving them in the genkan as he steps into the house.

“You don’t have to be nervous,” Koujaku tells him, clapping a hand on Ren’s shoulder; Ren is very surprised to notice him and Koujaku are nearly the same height. “I’ll take good care of you, I promise,” he tells Ren sincerely, and Ren does feel a bit better at that.

“He will!” Comes a familiar voice from Koujaku’s kimono, and Koujaku squirms as Beni frees himself from being tucked inside against his torso, making himself more comfortable perching on Koujaku’s shoulder, the one closer to Ren. “Koujaku’s so good at cutting hair, Ren! If he messes anything up, I’ll peck his face off!”

“Hey!” Koujaku whines, shrugging his shoulder to jostle his AllMate. “How’s that supposed to make _me_ feel--?”

“I didn’t make food for it to go cold on the table!” Interrupts Koujaku, which is Tae from the kitchen, and Aoba and Koujaku both snicker as the three of them head out to the table, sitting down in a rush at the delicious smell. Koujaku greets Tae happily, and she grumbles something about him being a mooch before telling them to eat up, an order that is easy to obey when it comes to Tae’s cooking.

There’s conversation over dinner, but Ren doesn’t say much. Truthfully, Ren just doesn’t say much as it is—he’s a quiet guy, but Koujaku makes him feel a bit more reserved than usual, which isn’t so bad, he supposes. He likes listening to Aoba and Koujaku chat and laugh, even if he isn’t aware of all the things they talk about.

After dinner, Aoba and Ren do the dishes while Koujaku sits at the table and chats with them. Tae retires to her room quickly, telling them to keep the noise down, and Koujaku assures her it won’t be a problem.

“Ren?” He addresses, and Ren glances over his shoulder curiously.

“You’ve been real quiet,” Koujaku notes, and Ren shrugs, handing Aoba a wet dish to dry.

“You okay?” Aoba asks softly, looking quite worried. Ren doesn’t like that look on Aoba, and he feels bad his nerves are so easy to read; he didn’t really feel that nervous until it was just the three of them, like this…

Ren clears his throat a bit. “I’m alright,” he assures as he washes another dish. “Just… nervous.”

“Is it gonna be your first haircut?” Beni asks, and Ren turns back to nod at the AllMate and, subsequently, Koujaku, who smiles warmly at him.

“Don’t worry, Ren,” he assures easily, and Ren turns back to the last dish in his hand to wash.

Aoba nods as they finish up the dishes, wiping his hands off. “Even if Koujaku makes _most_ of his money on _tips_ ,” he says with a leer over his shoulder when Koujaku scoffs loudly, “he’s good at what he does. It’ll be fine, Ren.”

“So,” Koujaku says as he gets up from the table. “Ready?”

Ren sighs quietly as he turns around, nodding. “I am.”

“Well, I’m not,” Koujaku laughs easily, scooping Beni up in his hand to set him on his shoulder. “Let’s go upstairs so I can have a cigarette first.”

* * *

Koujaku has a smoke whilst chatting with Aoba.

Ren and Aoba sit inside at the coffee table while Koujaku smokes, tilting his head back and blowing the smoke up to the sky. He looks so relaxed, Ren wishes he could be that relaxed right now, and then Aoba says something about ass-kicking and Koujaku laughs loudly, flicking the ash of his cigarette off in the ashtray.

“Okay,” Koujaku announces, taking one last drag before putting his cigarette out. “I’m good. You okay, Ren? Having second thoughts?”

Koujaku and Aoba both look to Ren, and he quickly shakes his head. “I’m fine,” he assures, trying not to squeeze his hands into fists.

Koujaku comes inside and Aoba suggests they do it in the bathroom, since he doesn’t want to have hair all over the tatami mats in his room (since he hates cleaning, Koujaku tells him, and Aoba scowls and shoves him in the arm). So they move to the bathroom, and Aoba quickly heads downstairs to get one of the kitchen chairs to bring up to the bathroom. Ren stands there, feeling useless as Koujaku sets out his tools from the box on his hip, and gestures for Ren to take a seat with a smile.

Ren does, and he looks at his reflection in the mirror before him, Koujaku standing off to his side. He gently strokes Ren’s hair, and Ren feels a little calmer at the action, shooting him a small smile in turn.

“So,” Koujaku starts. “What do you want, Ren?”

“The… bangs, cut,” he starts awkwardly, but Koujaku just nods, observing how long Ren’s hair is, just at the tops of his shoulders at this point.

“Just the bangs?”

Ren shakes his head a little, and notices Aoba’s surprise from his place off to the side. “I… want most of his shorter. All of it?”

“Okay,” Koujaku hums. “How short?” He starts holding his fingers at places to show Ren how much he’ll cut. “This short? At your chin?”

“No,” Ren tells him, sighs as he tries to explain what he means. He knows what he means, and he tries to do the motion with his hands, but Koujaku doesn’t really understand. Ren looks to Aoba, who’s trying to dissect what Ren means until he seems to understand by the movement of Ren’s hands, and nods.

“He wants it like how he had it in Rhyme,” Aoba explains, moving closer. Aoba’s fingers touch his hair, and Ren melts a little at the touch as Aoba explains to Koujaku what Ren means. Of course, Aoba explains it much better, and Koujaku quickly nods with a mumble of, “Okay, I see, I got it,” as he ruffles Ren’s hair up a little, grinning at him.

“Let’s wash your hair first, ‘kay?”

So Ren lets Koujaku do that.

Basically it’s just Ren bowing over the edge of the bath without his shirt on while Koujaku scrubs and rinses his hair with the showerhead, but the way Koujaku does it is so… nice. It doesn’t hurt, it feels like when Aoba used to scratch him behind the ears, and Ren sighs and relaxes as Koujaku washes his hair with great care, commenting on how soft and thick it is.

When he’s finished, they shuffle Ren back to the chair. Koujaku tosses a towel over Ren’s shoulders, untucks his hair and gently begins to comb it out.

The way he brushes Ren’s hair is really only… comfortable. Perfect. He doesn’t snag it at all. When there’s a tangle, he works it out carefully, making sure not to yank Ren’s head around with the action. Ren glances to Aoba as Koujaku brushes out the back of his hair, Aoba who has taken the stool from the shower to sit on near Ren, and smiles a little when Aoba grins at him.

“Not so bad?” Aoba asks with his chin in his hand as he looks up at Ren.

“Not at all,” Ren agrees, and hears Koujaku chuckle behind him.

When Koujaku brushes it all out, he starts.

Before the first cut, he looks at Ren in the mirror, suddenly very serious as he asks, “You’re still sure? Once I start it’s not going to be the same.”

Ren swallows, nervousness brewing again, but he nods. He’s sure.

“Go ahead.”

So Koujaku cuts the first piece.

It falls to the floor, and Ren closes his eyes. He feels like he could cry, feels guilty but also feels happy he can do this, he can experience this. He’s not ruining Sei’s temple, he’s _living_ in the body Sei _gave_ to him, that Sei _expected_ him to change with and enjoy.

He feels something touching him, and when he opens his eyes, he sees Aoba’s hand gently rubbing his knee, smiling up at him gently. He probably wants to tell Ren that he’s being good, it’s okay, but just his smile is doing enough for Ren, settling him down once more.

Koujaku is rather silent as he works, so Aoba does most of the talking. Mostly he’s just telling them things about this or that and letting Ren and Koujaku comment when they feel like it, but it’s nice. Ren jostles a little when Aoba says something funny and Koujaku puts a hand on the top of his head.

“Schay schill,”comes Koujaku’s warning around a hairclip poking out between his teeth. Ren apologizes and stills himself, which makes Aoba laugh.

“You’re not in trouble, Ren—Koujaku’s being a perfectionist,” Aoba assures, patting Ren’s leg. Koujaku snorts from behind him.

“I’m doing my _job_ ,” he says clearly as he pins part of Ren’s hair up, and goes back to cutting. Ren watches him through the mirror, amazed with how Koujaku works with his scissors—he wonders how it will look when it’s not a flat, wet mess, but he’s sure it’ll look good. It will.

A long time passes (or perhaps not, but it seems rather long) before Koujaku finally snips Ren’s bangs properly, and then looks to Aoba as he cards his long, scarred fingers through Ren’s drying hair.

“Do you have a blowdryer or something?” Koujaku asks, and Aoba nods as he gets up with a grunt.

“Let me get it,” Aoba mumbles as he leaves the room. Ren looks at Koujaku in the mirror again, but when their gaze meets, Ren shyly drops his eyes to his lap.

Koujaku smiles, Ren can hear it in his words. “You still okay, Ren?”

“I’m fine,” Ren assures. “It felt really nice.” Ren definitely understands why ladies would fawn over him; with Koujaku doing their hair and purring sweet words to them in the process? Anyone would swoon over that, Ren thinks, and hopes he isn’t blushing at the thought.

“It’s gonna look great, Ren!” Beni chirps, and Ren glances to the mirror to see Beni bobbing on Koujaku’s shoulder. “Koujaku worked really hard—he’s not usually that focused—“

“A-haha, Beni,” Koujaku hushes, and his AllMate makes an angry garble as Koujaku covers him with a hand to silence him from speaking any further. His hand yanks back after only a moment as he snarls, “Ouch! Don’t peck me!”

“Don’t stifle me with your big fat hand!”

Ren chuckles as they bicker like that, until Aoba comes back with the hairdryer in his hands, rolling his eyes as he hands it to Koujaku.

Koujaku plugs it in and dries Ren’s hair, ruffling it and scratching his scalp gently. Ren feels his tongue threatening to slide out, so he bites it carefully, watching Koujaku finish up with his hair. When he turns the blowdryer off, Ren almost tries to get up, thinking they’re done, but Koujaku presses on his shoulders with a smile.

“One more thing, Ren, hang on,” he tells him, and Ren sits there, embarrassed, as Koujaku moves back to his back left on the bathroom counter. He grabs a small tube of… something, spreading a clear gel on his hands before he, almost literally, slaps it into Ren’s hair, gently working in the sticky, clean-smelling substance into Ren’s hair.

“I think this is what Aoba was talking about,” Koujaku tells him. “I cut your hair so it’ll sit better like this—but, you can wear it regularly, too.”

“What is that?” Ren asks as Koujaku moves in front of him, fiddling with his bangs.

“Just hair gel. I can give you what I brought—I don’t really use it much for customers, anyway.”

Koujaku works the gel in a bit more before he stands back—still blocking Ren’s view. Koujaku looks to Aoba, seeking approval, and the look on Aoba’s face says that it can’t be bad, he’s smiling and nodding, slow at first, then quicker.

“Oh, Ren,” Aoba tells him with a grin. “You’re _really_ gonna like it.”

“Can I see?” Ren asks, so polite, even with his brimming excitement (anxiety?), and both Koujaku and Aoba share a look between each other before laughing at the question.

“Of course,” Koujaku assures, stepping aside and taking the towel off Ren’s shoulders as he sees himself properly for the first time.

His first instinct is worry, because he’s lacking the markings, the collar, what he remembers from before. But that’s only because Koujaku did a good job, because it looks almost-identical to what Ren was used to before, what Ren wanted, and Ren watches himself in the mirror as he ghosts his hands over it, too amazed to actually touch it.

“So? Ren?” Koujaku asks, and lets out a little laugh. “You’re worrying me with all the silence—is it any good?”

Ren pries his gaze from the mirror to Koujaku, staring at him for all of five seconds before he jumps up from the chair, throwing his arms around Koujaku—he doesn’t _care_ if he seems weird or out of sorts for him, he’s _happy_ and Koujaku is a _wonderful_ friend, one he is very, very lucky to have, even if he’s shy around him sometimes.

“It’s wonderful,” Ren tells him while Koujaku laughs, patting his back. “Thank you _so_ _much_ , Koujaku.”

“Aww, Ren,” Aoba murmurs, and Ren pulls back to smile at him brightly, fangs and all. He feels… good. Fitting. Happy.

“I’m glad you like it, Ren,” Koujaku tells him, giving his shoulder a pat. “You tell me when you need it fixed up, okay? It’s no problem.”

Ren nods, eager, and fights the urge to hug Koujaku again. “Thank you, thank you so—“

“It’s _no_ _problem_ , Ren,” Koujaku interrupts with a grin. “I mean it!” He looks to Aoba, arching his brows suggestively. “And if Aoba wants a cut, too…”

“No, no,” Aoba waves off with a huff. “I’m fine with how my hair is right now, thank you.”

Koujaku frowns, gesturing to Ren. “But look how happy Ren is! Obviously my work isn’t too shabby—“

“No!” Aoba barks with a smirk. “I’d rather grow it down to my ankles before I’d let you cut it, hippo.”

“Looks like you’re already part way there—“

“Shut up!”

But they’re laughing, so Ren knows they’re only joking. They tease each other a bit more before they start cleaning up, mostly because Aoba insists that he’s not going to clean up Koujaku’s mess all alone.

Ren goes downstairs to get the broom and dustpan, and while he’s returning, he hears Aoba thanking Koujaku sincerely, voices much lower than they usually are. Ren pauses at the top of the stairs, listening to their conversation that, it seems, Ren is not supposed to be a part of.

“—really happy, thanks for doing this.”

“It’s fine, really! Ren really needed a haircut, anyway. Was that really his first? Like… that?”

Nothing, so Ren assumes Aoba nodded.

“Well, I’m glad I didn’t scare him—“

Ren decides that’s enough and moves back to the bathroom. He tries to start the sweeping himself, but Koujaku takes the broom from him, shaking his head.

“It’s my job—it’s part of the haircut,” Koujaku tells him as he starts to sweep. Ren wants to say something, but he doesn’t know what, so he looks to Aoba, who’s hoisting the kitchen chair up with a wide smile.

“You can go in my room, Ren,” Aoba tells him. “There’s nothing else for you to do.”

So Ren nods and does that. He waits for a long while, wondering if Aoba and Koujaku will come in, but they don’t. He finds that odd, so when he gets up to peek in the bathroom, Ren is surprised to see the lights off. He turns them on, looks around the bathroom, and gasps at the sight of Koujaku’s bag on the counter, packed but not taken. Quickly, he makes sure everything is inside before picking it up carefully, moving to head downstairs with it.

But he hears Aoba and Koujaku using those quiet voices out on the genkan, so he hides out at the top of the steps, listening as he holds Koujaku’s bag.

“Aoba, it’s—“

“I feel really bad! I know you were supposed to do Rib stuff so—just take it, okay?”

“Aoba—“

“Just take it!”

“I’m _not_ taking your money, Aoba.”

Ren feels crushed by guilt, clutching Koujaku’s back to his stomach as he sits on the top stair, listening to the rest of the conversation. Aoba was going to pay for it, even though he couldn’t afford it, on top of everything else he buys for Ren when he can. He was going to pay Koujaku for doing a service for Ren, something that didn’t do anything for Aoba at all.

He almost wants to cry.

“Ren’s my friend, too,” Koujaku’s saying, and Ren hears him buckling his sword over his back.  He feels honored to hear Koujaku say that. “I don’t mind it. I want to help out, too.”

“But I—“

“Just keep it, Aoba. Use it for something more important than a haircut, okay?”

Aoba makes a noise of distaste, and Ren wonders if they’ll say anything else on the matter. But then Aoba’s yelling out, “Ren! Koujaku’s going home!” that makes Ren bolt up and head down the steps, hurrying to meet them out at the door.

“Your bag, Koujaku,” Ren tells him, holding it out, and Koujaku’s eyes go wide as he laughs, taking it from Ren.

“You’re a lifesaver, Ren!” He laughs, settling it around his waist with his obi, and Ren nods politely as he stands beside Aoba, watching Koujaku slip on his shoes.

Koujaku gives them a little nod, smiling. “Thanks for having me—I’m glad you like your hair, Ren!”

Ren nods, a little shy, and waves.

“Get home safe,” he and Aoba bid at the same time, which makes them both look at each other while Koujaku laughs.

“I will. Beni, say bye.”

Koujaku’s AllMate flutters a bit, chirps a quick, “Bye Aoba! Bye Ren!” before Koujaku turns to take his leave, heading in the opposite direction he lives in; Aoba sighs.

“Be careful with the Rib stuff, you hippo!” He calls out with his hands cupped around his mouth, and Koujaku grins, turns back, and puts a finger to his lips to tell Aoba to be quiet, which makes Aoba huff and wave at him angrily before heading inside. Ren follows, waving a more polite hand, to which Koujaku smiles and waves at in return, before he goes inside behind Aoba.

“He’s an idiot,” Aoba sighs, heading towards the stairs, but Ren stops him with a hug, burying his face into Aoba’s hair.

“Ren?” Aoba asks softly, rubbing his back gently, sounding worried. “What’s wrong?”

“Thank you, Aoba,” Ren tells him softly, moving a bit so their foreheads bump together, just like they’re ought to do like this, when they’re so close. He feels Aoba smile a little, hug him a bit tighter as he lets out a little laugh.

“Oh, Ren,” he chuckles. “The pleasure is mine.”

Ren smiles, pulling back a little. “That’s the wrong way around,” he says, and Aoba grins as he gives him a quick kiss on the chin.

“It still works,” Aoba says, moving to start up the stairs, Ren’s hand in his. “Lots of things work the other way around.”

Ren looks a little puzzled, and Aoba leans in, whispers in his ear, “Like when _I_ fuck _you_ ,” that makes Ren’s face go completely red as he struggles not to groan at the implication. Aoba grins at him excitedly, giving him a little tug as he asks, “So… let’s go to my room?”

Ren nods eagerly, letting Aoba drag him up the stairs with excitement thrumming in him, delighted in every possible way he can imagine.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm a slut for Ren being happy. ;v;
> 
> I also wanted to make this RenKouAo but it's so short and I also just wanted to post it lmao.


End file.
